5. The Incredibles
It’s been said a million times but I’ll say it again – this was a better Fantastic Four movie than the actual Fantastic Four movies. With a little bit of The Watchmen thrown in for good measure.
With a throwback aesthetic reminiscent of golden era comic books, The Incredibles is among my top 5 favorite Pixar movies. This movie holds little back in terms of maturity while still remaining Disney-esque. C’mon now – we learn superheroes are being hunted as part of a master plan to make superhero powers obsolete. But there’s also cute Jack Jack.
4. Up
Most. Devastating. Intro. To. A. Disney. Movie. Ever.
Up is one of my favorite movies of all time. It’s really emotional to sit through Ellie and Carl’s life but it really sets up why Carl is a grumpy old man by the time the story is set in motion. We really feel for him, that one thing he never got to do with the love of his life and we want him to knock that adventure off his bucket list. By the end of the movie we’ve learned the same lessons as him thanks to his ragtag band of travel companions.
And dogs are flying propeller pl… SQUIRREL!!!…… planes.
3. Coco
We’ve gotten thousands of movies focused on Halloween, but never any movies on el dia de los muertos (Day of the Dead), at least in the mainstream. I think the only other mainstream movie to focus on the holiday was a scene in one of the James Bond movies…
Look, Coco was a masterpiece. Typically song and story movies are reserved for straight up Disney Animated Studios movies, but Pixar really knocked a homerun with this one. The songs all are wonderful – beautiful and emotional and serve the story well. The themes of death and legacy ring true for most. “Remember Me” hits all the feels. And that’s before talking about this movie’s cultural importance in terms of representation for Latin Americans.
If it wasn’t for my connection with the last two movies on this list I would easily place this as #1.
2. WALL-E
It’s great filmmaking at its finest when the first 45 minutes have virtually no dialogue whatsoever and we’re still incredibly invested into WALL-E and Eve’s relationship.
The genius of WALL-E is that it’s a smart sci-fi movie cleverly disguised as a family cartoon movie. A subtle commentary on where humanity is heading if we do not take care of our planet. The cutest post-apocalyptic movie ever.
WALL-E has so much heart and soul coming from a trash compacting robot. He/it’ll have you rooting for him and you’ll nearly cry tears of sadness followed by tears of happiness by the movie’s end.
1. Toy Story 3
Pixar at the height of its artistry. An emotional roller coaster. SPOILERS – When Andy hands off all his childhood toys to Bonnie, I nearly lose it every time, especially when he takes that last look at Woody before taking off. I’m getting choked up this typing this…
Oh… and the heart strings got tugged so hard when we saw the gang on the cusp of destruction in the furnace.
It neatly wraps up Andy’s story with the toys and gives hope that the stories with the toys can continue with a new kid. At the end of the day, the toys deserve to be with a kid and not in some attic collecting dust, something Woody realizes at the movie’s conclusion.
I don’t know what else to say… Toy Story 3 is perfect. A movie that speaks to the kid in us all who grew up playing toys.